Nadahinni

Quick report

Weather

cloudy, cold, sunny

Ride Type

alpineSlopes, sunnySlopes

Riding Quality

good

Snow Conditions

crusty, powder

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionSlab

We sledded into Nadahinni today and our most notable observation was a snowboard-remote triggered slab avalanche. The rider was putting turns in the upper, supported portion of a bench (good form) and remotely triggered a slab avalanche on the east-facing roll of the bench. We looked at the bed surface below the crown and found a layer of large, blocky facets, melt forms and buried surface hoar. While surrounding areas were covered in up to three meters of snow, the height of snow on this roll-over was only 100 cm. While I think the problem is likely isolated to shallow snow areas and specific south-to-east aspects, it does speak to spatial variability and the need to constantly re-assess snow conditions as you travel. The snowboarder picked his line carefully and did not expose himself to significant overhead hazard.